Supreme Court on Inter-State Water Disputes: Balancing Article 262 with Fundamental Rights

In a significant clarification of constitutional boundaries, the Supreme Court of India has reaffirmed that the exclusion of its jurisdiction in inter-state water disputes under Article 262 is not absolute. While hearing matters related to the long-standing Cauvery water-sharing dispute, the Court emphasized that the Union’s power to create Water Dispute Tribunals cannot oust the judiciary's mandate to protect fundamental rights, specifically the Right to Life under Article 21. Article 262 of the Constitution allows Parliament to provide for the adjudication of disputes relating to inter-state rivers and explicitly permits the exclusion of the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction in such matters. This was operationalized through the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956. However, the Court noted that water is not merely a commodity but a vital resource essential for human survival. By linking water security directly to Article 21, the Court has carved out a constitutional space where it can intervene if the actions or inactions of a tribunal or the Union government jeopardize the basic survival of citizens in the contesting states.